How to Fit in at a New Company
Sydnie Kohara: Let’s say I’m very new with the organization but I’ve done all the right things. I mean I’ve read the mission statement but what about all of those unwritten rules of conduct? How do I know what to say, how to act?
Starla Sireno: One of the biggest mistakes people make when they’re new in an organization, is they just come in swinging. That is the worst thing you can do. Instead what you need to do, instead of doing and telling and telling people what to do, what you need to is step back observe, asks questions, and really listen. Figure out what’s acceptable within an organization before you start taking action.
Sydnie Kohara: So what are some of the clues I should look for as to the identity of my organization?
Starla Sireno: Well there’s really two ways that you can look it. You can look at a really top level from the corporate culture. What kind of an organization is this? Is this a really informal? Social fund creative type of place? Or is this formal kind of more rigid structured organization where titles mean a lot. Is it a political place? These are the types of questions you have to ask yourself.
Sydnie Kohora; So what if I work at a tech company and in Silicon Valley and I decide I’m going to move to financial services in San Francisco. I mean there are some big cultural changes there.
Starla Sireno: You’re in for some serious cultural changes. A tech company is going to be more laid back, more creative, everything from how you dress to how you how talking interact is going to be very different. In a financial services industry, it’s all about credibility and so you manage people’s money. So how you dress, how you act, is going to be much more formal and structured. Even how you communicate is going to be different, instead of texting and IMing, in financial services there’s regulations that say you’re probably not going to be able to do that.
Sydnie Kohara: In summary?
Starla Sireno: In summary before you do anything in an organization, step back, observe. Observe the culture, observe the successful people and then once you figured it out then you can take action.
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